One of the most exciting things about the promise of the Obama administration is their commitment to employing interactive communication technologies in an effort to better their stewardship of the country.

It was the utilization of these tools that spurred him to victory in a daunting primary process and pushed him to a convincing win in the general election. At a simple level, what he really did was engage anyone he could in conversation. That is the hallmark principle of web 2.0 and also of a good politician. I think this concept is at the center of why people (a whopping 79% approve of his handling of the transition) are so optimistic about what type of leader he may be. While it's true that we are in the midst of very difficult times and that will prod more folks into being open to and hopeful that Obama may lead us out of here, I think it is his continued commitment to conversation and engagement that offers the most potential upside.

NYC Mayor Michael
Bloomberg, who last week proudly announced that
his city has agreed to host the first leg of the 2009 competition,
is a big fan of the impact the event could have on the way we
approach the future.

“We really do need some new thinking, we need some innovation,”
urged Bloomberg, “We’ve got to get people to participate, and to
change their lives and to understand that we’ve have to use less
energy and that we have to find alternative energy sources that
aren’t destroying our planet.”

Check out Bloomberg and XPrize CEO
Peter Diamandis in action at Thursday’s XPrize Announcement press
conference, just released to the web a few hours ago:

“I don’t think there’s any bigger threat to our world and out
country than global warming and our dependency on oil,” added the
philanthropist-business-magnate-turned-mayor.

Peter Diamandis, Chairman & CEO,
XPrize Foundation, echoed Bloomberg’s sentiments, stating, “It’s a
challenge to every one of us. We face these issues together. We
must solve them together.”